Bryan Bertino to Write and Direct THIS MAN for Sam Raimi’s Ghost House Pictures

Sam Raimi’s Ghost House Pictures has hired Bryan Bertino (The Strangers, seen right) to write and direct This Man. The film is based on the real life accounts on a man who discovers that people around the world are seeing him in their dreams. He then sets out to find why he is the cause of all their nightmares (my theory: he’s the star of whatever Internet meme you find most horrifying).

The project was based on a website by Italian sociologist Andrea Natella. Natella wanted to connect people who had seen the man in their dreams and to foster communication between them. Did she create YouTube? Because if my theory is correct, she created YouTube. But in all seriousness, the whole project was most likely a hoax since Natella was a sociologist who specialized in marketing. However, it is a cool premise for a movie.

Hit the jump to read the full press release.

Here’s the full press release from Ghost House Pictures:

BRYAN BERTINO TO WRITE AND DIRECT ‘THIS MAN’

BERTINO AND ADRIENNE BIDDLE PARTNERING WITH

GHOST HOUSE PICTURES TO PRODUCE

Los Angeles (May 5, 2010) – Ghost House Pictures announced today that Bryan Bertino (THE STRANGERS) will direct THIS MAN, an original screenplay that he will also pen. Bertino and Adrienne Biddle are partnering with Ghost House principals Sam Raimi and Rob Tapert to produce the film. Ghost House principal Nathan Kahane will executive produce. J.R. Young and Mary Lee will oversee the project for the company.

“We look forward to partnering with Bryan and Adrienne to develop this unique, hair-raising horror story that will be sure to delight horror fans,” shares Sam Raimi.

Based on real life accounts, THIS MAN follows an ordinary guy who discovers that people he has never met are seeing him in their dreams. Now he must find out why he is the source of nightmares for strangers all over the world.

Ghost House had acquired the rights to a website created by Italian sociologist Andrea Natella. The website was created to help connect those who had seen this man in their dreams and to foster communication among them.

Bertino wrote and made his directing debut on THE STRANGERS, which was produced by Roy Lee, Doug Davison and Nathan Kahane. He also wrote the screenplay for THE STRANGERS 2 which is in pre-production for Rogue Pictures. In September, he partnered with Biddle to form Unbroken Pictures, designed to produce high quality genre movies.

Bertino and Biddle are represented by CAA and attorney Jason Sloane of Sloane, Offer, Weber and Dern. Attorney Adam Sinjin Park negotiated the deal on behalf of Andrea Natella. Dan Freedman and Craig A. Kessler negotiated the deals for the company.

ABOUT GHOST HOUSE PICTURES

Ghost House Pictures was formed as a joint venture between filmmakers Sam Raimi, Rob Tapert, Nathan Kahane and Joe Drake creating a production label dedicated to the financing, development and release of films in the horror thriller genre. The company achieved success with five consecutive #1 releases, starting with the 2004 remake of The Grudge, starring Sarah Michelle Gellar, which has grossed $188 million worldwide; The Grudge 2, which opened at number one in October 2006; Stephen T. Kay’s Boogeyman, starring Barry Watson, The Messengers, from acclaimed filmmakers Oxide and Danny Pang (The Eye), which was released in February 2007; and David Slade’s 30 Days of Night, an adaptation of the popular comic about vampires descending on an Alaskan town. Most recently, Universal Pictures released Drag Me To Hell in May 2009. The film, which was written and directed by Sam Raimi, stars Alison Lohman and Justin Long.